Flexible shingle



March 25 1924. 1,488,447

J. A. TOPPING FLEXIBLE SHINGLE Filed Feb. 23, 1.922 2 Sheets-Sheet) INVENTORQ W1 TNESSES: fokn fl. W ning;

mph-ch 25, 1924 3 1,4 3 447.

J. A. TOPPING I FLEXIBLE) SHINGLE Filed Fe 25, 1.9212 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTOR: WITNESSES: f0hn A. Topping,

' To all whom it may and more particular-l Patented 25, 1924. V

UNITED STATES I 1,488,447 PATENT OFFICE.

Join! a rorrmo, or cnioaeo, rumors, nssmnon TO THE manna asrmr PAV- mo conrm, or PHILADELPHIA, rnmrsytvmra-a coarona'non or wear VIRGINIA.

FLEXIBLE SHINGLE.

Application filed February 28, 1922. Serial No. 538,498.

concern: Be it known that I, Joan" A. Torrmo, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use provements in Flexible Shingles, whereof the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings. I s

This invention relates to roof coverings to shingles of the type which are fabrica from sheets of fibrous material, such as felt, paper, or the like, previously treated with a bituminous substance such as asphaltum, whereby the shingles are rendered flexible, non-porous and waterproof, so as to shed the rain and to retain warmth within the building covered thereb An object of the invention is to providb shingles of this type which are formed, so as to be inter-engaging when properly laid upon a roof, .to prevent the edges of the shingles from rising under wind pressure to prevent the accumulation of snow and moisture roofat all times.

.. The above stat under the edges of the shingles, and to compel' the shing es to la tight and flatupon the his is accomplished in the present invention by integrally forming certain portions of the shin les with means to en over-the edges adjacent shingles, t ereby interlocking the assemblage and causing the shingles to coact to mutually hold down their ed s.

objects ma be accomphshed in various wa s, and I ave devised several preferred em diments of my' invention, which are illustrated in the accom- 1s a view -in plan oi a fragment of a roof covering formed of, a plurality of gles, constructed in accordance with one om ent of my invention.

Fig. II is a view in plan of an'individual shingle illustrating to better advantage its detll ed construction.

Fig. III

is a view in plan of a fra ent of a roof covering constructed of shingles same structural formation, as preceding figures, but desi ed in the form of an equilateral uadrang e, so as to obtain a different visu architectural effect, and an arrangement requiring a minimum amount of shingles per unit area of roof to be covered.

Fig. IV is a view in top plan of a fraghav the those shown in the nient of a roof covering formed of shinglesfabricated in accordance with my invention, in which the shingles are integrally connected in the form of strips to facilitate laying of the courses.

With reference to Figs. I and II of the drawings, gle designed in the usual form of aquadranglehaving opposed sides of equal length, but adjacent sides of unequal length. Each of the longer-sides or edges is formed with a notch or slot 11, which enters at a point substantially midway of the ends of the shingle, but closer to one end than the other, hereinafter called the short end, and extends into the edge of the shingle in a diagonal direction toward said short end for a sufficient distance to form a pair of pronounced indicates an individual shin tabs or flaps 12, both of which are directed,

toward the lon end of the shingle. shingles shown in Fig. II in an identical manner, but are desi ed in the form of a square or equilatera quadrangle, and the notches 11 are formed in a reverse manner; that is, they extend diagonally toward the longer end, instead of to- The I are constructed ward the shorter end, as in the first form.-

other, the tabs 12 on the shingles of the underlying course are slightly raised to permit of the coverthe lower edges of the shingles ing course to be inserted thereunder, thus causing the lower edges of the shingles to lay fiat or tight against the roof, and interlocking the same, one with another. The fastening elements 13 are through the shingles of t e covering course at points opposite the notches so as to enter the underlying shingles also penetrating the latter at their long en s. The fastening elements will thus be covered and protected from the the shingles to form a effect. In laying one course, over an referably driven mts adjacent the margins of weather. It will be noted that since the extent to which the covering shingles overlap the underlying shingles is definitely limited by the seating of the edges of the former in the notches of the latter, each course forms a guide for the next, so that the shingles may be readily laid in straight lines without the use of guides or other shingle laying paraphernalia. The style of shingle shown in F i III is laid in the same manner, except t at the shingles of each course are preferably spaced relatively to a greater extent than in the assemblage of the first style shown in Fig. I. As a result, fewer shingles per unit area of roof are required and a slightly different visual architectural effect is obtained. 1

For convenience and the saving of time in laying shingles, I may employ the expedient of fabricating shingles embodying the above mentioned improvements in the form of a strip, so that an entire course may be laid at a time, as shown in Fig. IV. The strip 14, constituting a course, is formed along one edge with uniformly spaced transverse slots 15 which extend to the longitudinal medial line of the strip at which point each. slot is intersected by a substantially crescent shaped slot 16, the ends of which extend equi-distantly toward the slotted edge of the strip to form a pair of tabs or flaps 17 projecting in an opposite direction The provision of the transverse slots 15 defines a plurality of spaced shingle ends 18, all of which are integrally connected at their underlying or upper edges. In use, these strips are laid, one upon another in partial overlapping relation to form the courses of a shingled roof covering, arranging the courses relatively, so that the shingle ends 18 of the covering course each span the adjacent margins of a pair of shingle ends of the next underlying course to produce a bond effect. The tabs or flaps 17 are lifted so as to extend over the lower edges of the next covering course of shingles. It will be seen that by this arrangement the act of laying the shingles is facilitated' to the highest degree, since the strip formation enables an entire course to be laid at one operation, and the seating of the edges of the covering shingles into the notches of the underlying shingles permits the courses to be readily laid in parallel in a short space of time without the use of guides or the like.

In each of the forms described above, the exposed edges of the shingles are engaged at not less than two points so that they are caused to lay flat. Owing to the stiffness of the material from which the shingles are manufactured, the tabs 12 or 17, as the case may be will be sufliciently rigid to hold down the shingles against ordinary wind pressure and will effectively prevent, to a great extent the accumulation of snow or sleet under the exposed edges of the shingles as well as exclude the entrance of moisture beneath the shingles to a point short of the underlying rafter covering.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A flat shingle of flexible bitumen impregnated material of rectangular 7 form,

having opposite edges slotted diagonally toward one end of the shingle to form oppo sitely extending tabs lying in a plane coinciding with the lane of the shingle, but

flexed away to enga e over the edge of an overlying shingle en In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name at Chicago, Illinois, this 31st'day of January, 192

2 JOHN A. TGPPING. Witnesses:

H. HENDERSON, Vrro S. VALsNzaNo;

capable of being exed'away to engage over I 

